From: Emily Siazon 


"WASURERARENAI"(Unforgettable)
An alternative reality fanfic written by Emily Siazon.
All characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi.
< > are thoughts
**********************************************************************

Chapter 14
**********

     "Wait up," Ranma yelled as he ran up the hill towards Akane. He
had almost missed her in her hurry to save Shinnosuke. Fortunately,
Ranma caught a glimpse of her as he was leaving his tent.

     Akane gave the stranger an odd look and answered, "Do I know
you?"

     "I'm Ranma."

      she wondered. "You
wouldn't happen to be a noodle, would you?"

     "That's _ramen_."

     "Oh." They stood together, unsure of what to say next. Only the
sight of something big rising out of the nearby lake broke the
uncomfortable silence between them.

     "I- It can't be," Akane whispered as seven dragon heads rose from
the water. Whatever she was going to say next was cut off when Ranma
dragged her into a nearby cave to keep her safe.

     "What are you doing?!" she demanded. "That's the monster I have
to fight!"

     "No way! It's too dangerous!" Ranma yelled back while he tried to
protect her from the falling debris.

     "But it's to save Shinnosuke's life!" Receiving no answer, she
looked up at his impassive face and snarled. "You bastard! You want
him dead, don't you?!"

     Akane pried herself away from him and glared before she stalked
outside. "I hate you."

                       *        *        *

     Ranma woke up from his nightmare with a start, sweat trickling
down his face while he tried to catch his breath.

     That dream... it had been so real. His heart still ached from
those three words she had uttered at the end of it. Three cruel words
escaping her beautiful red lips so easily.

     And the worst part was, she was right. A part of him still wanted
her for himself, no matter what the cost.

     It had seemed so simple when he had left Nerima yesterday. He had
decided to help her. Because it was the honorable thing to do. Because
he wanted to protect her. And because her happiness was more important
than his.

     But... didn't he deserve to be happy, too?

                      *        *        *

     Akane sat on a cliff, impatiently waiting for the "monster"
Grandpa insisted was going to appear. Yeah, right. She couldn't 
believe the old man was convinced that it's real.

     She wouldn't even have been here if not for the small hope that 
there was a cure for Shinnosuke somewhere.

     She was about to rant again about the absurdity of this whole
plan when bubbles appeared on the usually placid lake. She quickly
stood up, giving the body of water a nervous glance.

     "I-It can't be!" She leaned against the edge of the cliff and
waited. After a couple of minutes, she was starting to think that her
mind was playing tricks on her. Then, all of a sudden, eight dragon 
heads emerged from the lake, the water splashing on her skin 
convincing her that this was no trick.

                      *        *        *

     Ranma was making his way towards the cabin when he bumped into a
boy clad in yellow and black.

     "Ranma, what are you doing in Osaka?" Ryoga inquired.

     "We're in Hokkaido."

     "I see."

     The two boys continued to walk up the hill, strangely silent.
Anyone who knew them would have surely been shocked at the
companionable air between them.

     Halfway there, they bumped into Grandpa, who was sitting in a 
clearing drinking sake and rejoicing at the amount of concern Akane 
had shown for his grandson. He wouldn't be surprised if the two ended 
up getting married and bearing him many healthy great-grandchildren.

     His reverie was broken as the Ranma stomped in front of him and
demanded to know where Akane was.

     "Why, she's off fighting that monster, of course."

     "What?!" The two boys demanded in unison. The old man wasn't
stupid enough to think that Akane could fight a monster by herself,
was he?

     "Don't look so worried," Grandpa told them while pouring himself
another cup of alcohol. "I gave her a bottle of sake so she should be
all right."

     Ryoga at this point looked mad enough to kill. He grabbed Grandpa
by the front of his shirt and started to shake the old man violently.
"I don't know what's going on, but I still care for Akane and I'll be
damned if I see her get hurt."

     "Where is she?" Ranma demanded, a heavy feeling forming at the
pit of his stomach.

     "She's near the lake."

      Ranma thought, remembering that the
monster in his dream had also come from the same place. 

     The three ran towards the middle of the forest. The two boys'
expression filled with worry, while the old man was too drunk to feel
much of anything.

     "Oh no, we're too late!" Ranma yelled as he watched Akane beating
the dragon over the head with the broom she was carrying. She was so 
intent on the fight that she failed to notice two more monsters coming 
up behind her, their mouths opened wide.

     Ranma ran up to her and tackled her to the ground, the dragon's
sharp fangs ripping the back of his shirt to shreds. Ignoring the 
pain, he stood up, Akane still in his arms, and ran towards a nearby 
cave. He tried to shake away the sense of deja vu and rushed inside as 
fast as he could.

     From a distance, he could hear Ryouga's battle cry as his friend
started his attack. 

     Ranma could also hear Akane's angry voice nearby asking him, 
"What do you think you're doing?"

     "It's too dangerous!" he yelled, ignoring the little voice in his
head which was telling him that it was just like that dream.

     "But it's to save Shinnosuke's life!"

     Ranma looked at Akane straight in the eye for a couple of
seconds, though it felt like an eternity before he made his decision.
"Let's go, then."

                     *        *        *

     The two ran out just in time to see the slightly winded Ryoga
take another shot at one of the monster's heads before him.

     Akane hurriedly joined him to watch his back before Ranma could 
protest.

     He shrugged, figuring she would be safe with Ryoga and started to
fight another part of the dragon, being careful not to go too far from 
the other teenagers.

     After a while, Ranma noticed that Akane was having a little 
trouble fighting the two monster's heads, so he delivered a usually 
lethal crescent kick, knocking his current opponent unconscious before 
running to her aid.

     "I don't need your help," she yelled while barely avoiding one of
the monster's sharp claws. She took another swipe at it, this time 
looking quite pleased with herself as some of the green moss on its 
forehead became imbedded to her broom.

     "This is no time for you to be stubborn," he answered as he put
his body between Akane and the two dragon heads to receive the blow 
meant for her. She noticed for the first time the damage he had 
received earlier when he fought back.

      she thought as she watched him take another hit.


     Having knocked the monster unconscious, Ranma turned around and
gave her a weary smile. "Shit, Akane. Why did you have to forget me
for? Didn't I promise to protect you?"

     

     The smile disappeared as a battered and pissed off dragon wrapped
its tongue around Ranma with the intent of eating him.

     In that instant, Akane felt the fuzzy air that had surrounded her
during the trip disappear. She let out a gasp as images of her first 
meeting with Ranma, right up to the faint smile he had given her only 
minutes before flooded her mind. Akane then saw the emotions that the
memories had brought along converge to form a vision of him, slowly
dying in front of her eyes.

     She snapped out of her trance, and to her dismay realized that
the image wasn't just a figment of her imagination. "RANMA!"

     Hoping that Grandpa knew what he was talking about, Akane grabbed
the bottle of sake from his hand and threw it in the opposite
direction, in hopes of distracting the monster.

     Unfortunately, it was too intent on slowly torturing Ranma to
notice. Akane felt some movement behind her and saw an exhausted Ryoga
sit against a tree. The bottle she had thrown earlier had distracted
his opponent, giving him the much needed time to catch his breath.

     Akane had enough and started to run towards Ranma, only to be
caught by the collar of her jacket.

     "Are you crazy?!" Ryoga demanded.

     Akane ignored him and kept struggling until the jacket finally
ripped open, revealing a bright blue shirt and a strangely shaped
white object.

     "The whistle!" a now sober Grandpa exclaimed. "Akane, blow into
it!"

     "What?!" Akane asked as she reached the opposite end of the
ravine and tried to pull Ranma away from the dragon.

     "Just do it!"

     Akane, who was by now hanging onto Ranma's leg in midair, shakily
brought the whistle to her mouth and blew as hard as she could.

     Akane felt herself start to fall as the horrible monster was put
to sleep. The sudden movement caused her to drop the whistle into the
deep blue lake below.

     The dire situation she was in was only starting to sink in.
Fortunately, she was caught by Ranma before panic overtook her. She
let out a shaky breath as they landed safely into the ground, not even
realizing that she had held it in.

     "Stupid," Ranma whispered in an angry tone, but his eyes betrayed
tenderness.

                       *        *        *

     "You mean that moss is what's going to save Shinnosuke's life?"
Ranma inquired as they finished packing.

     "Mm-hm. Its magic," Akane answered while she tried to figure out
what other things she should bring with her on the trip back to Tokyo.
"Didn't you notice how big the animals have gotten since the springs
filled back up?"

     Ranma watched as a giant pelican flew overhead, causing the walls
to shake slightly. "Well, now that you mention it..."

     "Hey, you better eat some of the curry I just cooked. We're not
going to have anything decent to eat until we get back to Nerima."

     "Um... no thanks." Ranma gave a puzzled frown as he watched
Grandpa and Ryoga shovel the food down their throats. His stomach
grumbled in response to the appetizing aroma the food was giving off.

     "Are you sure about that?" Akane asked, amused.

     "Well, maybe just a little." 

     "I hope you like it. I put some of the 'water of life' in it to
make it tastier."

     "It's delicious!" Ranma exclaimed as he took a small bite. "Wow,
that water _is_ magic."

     "Ranma!"

                       *        *        *

[Nerima General Hospital.]

     "Shinnosuke!" Akane yelled as she ran up to his motionless form.
The days without the magic water had not been kind to him. He had lost
a lot of weight since they had last seen him and his body emitted 
little warmth.

     Akane quickly turned him over, grateful that the hospital gowns
opened at the back. She carefully placed some of the moss over 
Shinnosuke's body, the deep scars disappearing within seconds.

     She let out a cry of joy as his eyes started to flutter open, his
deathly color having gone along with the wounds.

     Ranma, having watched all of this quietly from the doorway, 
walked towards the elevator, painfully aware that he didn't belong in 
that happy scene.

     He watched the joyous twosome for the final time as the metal
door closed in front of him. His visage sorrowful while he watched
Shinnosuke and Akane hug once again. 

                      *        *        *

     Meanwhile, in the hospital room, Akane was too ecstatic to notice
Ranma's disappearance. Her mind was only focused on the fact that her
oldest friend was still alive.

     She released herself from the hug, trying her best not to cry.
She sat down next to Shinnosuke and held his hand, in an attempt to
reassure herself that he was now safe.

     "Oh Shinnosuke," she whispered, tears appearing in her eyes
despite her best effort. "I... I was so scared."

     He patted her hand affectionately and kissed her on top of the
head. "But I'm okay now. I don't want you to be afraid anymore. In
fact, if you'd let me, I want to keep you happy for the rest of your
life."

     "What?!" a shocked Akane asked, raising her tear stained face to
look into his eyes, convinced that she didn't hear him right.

     "I want you to marry me."

     Akane abruptly stood up, the necklace that had almost been sliced
by the orochi's claws falling on Shinnosuke's lap, and forcing him to
release her hand.

     "I... I'm sorry," she whispered before she ran off, no longer
trying to hold back her tears.

     Shinnosuke watched her retreating form for a couple of seconds
before he looked down at the delicate gold necklace in his lap. He
stared at the opened locket for a little while before he threw it
against the wall, no longer able to stand the sight of Ranma and
Akane's smiling faces.

                       *        *        *

     
Ranma thought to himself as he slowly made his way towards the train
station.  His line of thought was cut
off when he noticed a familiar blue haired girl run by.

     He grabbed Akane's arm, turning her around to face him. Her eyes
sparkled from the unshed tears, and her faced was flushed from her
brief run. Even in the midst of despair, to him, she was beautiful.

     Akane stared at his face, her bottom lip quivering before she
flung herself into his arms. Ranma, through it all, stood stiffly,
patting her back awkwardly while her hot tears turned his silk shirt a
darker shade of crimson.

     After a couple of minutes, her crying had been reduced to the
occasional sniffle, and Akane felt composed enough to speak.

     "H-He asked me to marry him, but I couldn't..."

Epilogue
********

[6 months later.]

     Akane stood near the edge of a cliff, pondering the events of
the past couple of months.

     After Shinnosuke had left without saying a word--most likely having 
forgotten she even existed--she had been invited to live with the 
Tendos. They had been kind to her, treating her like one of their 
own.

     Akane smiled as she remembered how they had made a fuss that
morning before she and Ranma had left the house. Kasumi had insisted
that they bring lunch while Soun had cried his heart out.

     It was nice to feel like she belonged.

     Akane felt a tap on her shoulder, turning around even though she
couldn't see Ranma standing behind her. She tugged the corners of the
slightly uncomfortable blindfold, curious on why he had insisted
that she wear it.

     "Are you ready?" he asked, biting back his tongue to stop the
thousand other questions that he had built up the courage to ask.

     Did she still think about Shinnosuke? What about him? Did she
think that they could be happy... together?

     However, they had been through so much already, making many
enemies and friends over the past couple of months. He was sure that
there were many more experiences that they would share, and for now,
her friendship was enough.

     "Yes."

     He slowly took the blindfold off, causing Akane to gasp in wonder
as she got her first glimpse of the glittering blue jewel before her.
She let out a cry of delight as a dolphin emerged nearby, marring the
calm blue ocean water.

     After a couple of minutes, Akane pried her eyes away long enough
to give Ranma a smile so bright that it rivaled the midday sun above 
them. "I-It's beautiful."

                               THE END
**********************************************************************
AUTHORS NOTES: Yay! I'm finished! Hope most of you were happy with the
ending. After numerous threats from my best friend, I finally decided
to make it a Ranma ends up with Akane fic. Now all of you who wanted 
her to end up with Shinnosuke know who to blame ^_^
I'd like to thank Scott Schimmel, my prereader for pointing out the
parts that didn't make too much sense(Writing most of the fic at two
a.m. can do that). And for all those who commented, I'm sorry if you
didn't get a response, but my inbox is currently filled and I can't
find anything there if my life depended on it :)
Please send c&c or I'll be forced to drown my sorrows by eating ice 
cream! How's that for a guilt trip ^_^


    Source: geocities.com/timessquare/realm/4845